


Silver Wings

by derryderrydown



Category: Captain America (2011)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-10
Updated: 2012-02-10
Packaged: 2017-10-30 21:13:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/336226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/derryderrydown/pseuds/derryderrydown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn′t hope that took Peggy dancing, two Saturdays after Steve was killed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Silver Wings

It wasn′t hope that took Peggy dancing, two Saturdays after Steve was killed.

The fact that Steve had returned from being killed in action once before didn′t mean that he′d do it again. Hope would be foolish and Peggy wasn′t a fool.

So it wasn′t hope that had her sitting at this tiny, dirty table, crushed into a corner of the club by the heaving mass of officers. And when, on the dot of eight o′clock, there was a commotion at the entrance, it wasn′t hope that choked her throat and clenched her stomach and had her standing on tiptoe to see over the crowds.

And it wasn′t hope that shattered when she saw the man causing the ruckus was shorter than Steve, with dark hair and a moustache. Howard Stark. Even in London, he attracted attention.

She sat back down and sipped at her warm gin and tonic, and didn′t look up until Howard leaned against her table.

″Why are you here?″ she asked, not making an attempt to be friendly.

″Same as you,″ he said, and shrugged. ″The kid′s a showman. If he′s going to show up, it′ll be here and now.″

″He won′t show up,″ Peggy said.

Howard shrugged again, and held out a hand. ″If he does, let him find you dancing.″

She tilted her glass, coming close to spilling her drink on the table. It could only improve the cleanliness. ″I′m waiting for the right partner,″ she said.

″But how will you know how to dance if you haven′t practised before?″

Peggy narrowed her eyes as she looked up at him. ″You′d better be talking about dancing, Mr. Stark.″

His smile was more muted than his usual irrepressible grin. ″Right now? Just dancing.″ He caught her hand and gave it a gentle tug. ″Come on, darling.″

If it had been a slow song, she′d have stayed sitting where she was but it was something perky and cheerful, so she let Howard pull her to her feet and carve out a place for them on the packed dancefloor.

His hand was sure on her waist and she relaxed into his grip, let him guide her for the few steps they could manage in the crowd. And when she stumbled against him, tripped by a Royal Navy lieutenant dancing with a WAAF aircraftwoman who shouldn't have even been in here, not in uniform, she let him catch her and keep her close enough that she could feel his breath on her face.

He smelled of whisky and aviation fuel and warmth and, even when she closed her eyes, she couldn′t imagine he was Steve. Steve smelled of soap and cordite and metal and that strange chemical tang of his uniform.

″I see a rainbow blending now,″ Howard sang into her ear, ″We′ll have our happy ending now, taking a chance on love.″ His voice was slightly sharp, the melody a few keys too low for him. ″Just so you know,″ he said, ″I′m keeping an eye on the door. In case he comes in.″

″He won′t,″ Peggy said.

″Let me hope,″ he said, and she looked up to notice, for the first time, that his eyes were reddened.

″You...″ she said, and realised she didn′t know how to put it into words.

He shrugged, and managed to spin her round a little. ″He′s got all my vibranium,″ he said, then rested his forehead against hers. ″And he′s a good kid.″

″He′s not a kid.″

″I know.″ The song came to an end they stood waiting for the next one, their closeness suddenly seeming far more intimate than it had a moment ago. ″But when he grins at you, he still looks like a kid.″

Peggy managed a smile at the memory.

″Well,″ Howard added, ″apart from the muscles. The muscles... What′s the matter?″

Peggy had stiffened at the opening notes of the next song.

″Silver wings in the moonlight,″ the woman on stage was singing. ″Flying high up above...″ It didn′t matter that her voice was too harsh or that the lyrics were stupidly sentimental, because Peggy was seeing the Valkyrie taking off into the night again, taking Steve away.

″Oh, God,″ Peggy muttered, and buried her face in Howard′s shoulder. She wasn′t going to cry. Not here. Not in public.

″While I′m patiently waiting,″ the singer continued, ″please take care of my love.″

Howard moved his hand from her back to her neck, gently stroking her hair. ″Hush, hush, darling,″ he said.

″I-I need to get out of here. Please.″

″Come on.″ And she let him lead her away, out through a door marked private and down a corridor until they were outside in a pitch-black alley that smelled of piss and rubbish. The door slammed behind her, quietening the music but not muting it completely. ″There, now, let it out.″

And, for the first time, she did, sobbing into his shoulder until her throat hurt and her head ached and her entire face felt swollen, and he still just kept rubbing her back and murmuring soothing nothings. When she finally lifted her head, there was something bright and syncopated coming through the door and it made her feel even more ridiculous.

″I′m sorry,″ she said, ″I′m sure I′ve got powder and lipstick all over your suit.″

″It′s probably had worse,″ he said, and his hand found her face, his thumb smoothed under her eye. ″How do you feel now?″

″Pretty rotten, actually,″ she said, and sniffed.

″Of course you do,″ he said, and she let her head rest back on his shoulder, relaxed into the pressure of his hands smoothing up and down her back, until they were gradually swaying in time to the music.

Just this once, she didn′t have to keep up the pretence that life was carrying on just fine without Steve. She could take the comfort that was offered, the warmth that was Howard breathing into her neck.

″Come on, darling,″ he said. ″My car′s round the corner – I′ll run you home.″

Oh, God. Just the thought of her empty room made her feel worse again. ″Stay with me,″ she said impulsively, and didn′t realise how it sounded until Howard stilled.

″Do you mean...?″

She hadn′t. But now, with him warm against her, she did.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah. This is a songfic. I'm sorry.
> 
> [Silver Wings in the Moonlight](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD1CqwrsGYY).


End file.
